There is a triple headstone at the Dorchester Old North Burying Ground for three young men: Moses Whitney David Williams and James Pike, who died on December 24, 1803. They had traveled into Boston the evening before, and on the way back, their boat capsized between Boston and Dorchester Neck. James Pike was 28 years who had a one-year old son; David Williams, Jr., was 20; and Moses Whitney was 17. They were buried from the meeting-house, and an appropriate discourse was delivered by Rev. Dr. Harris.
Their inscription reads:
This stone designates the place where are interred the bodies of
Mr. Moses Whitney, aged 17, Mr. David Williams, aged 20, and Mr. James Pike aged 28.
Who returning from Boston on the eve of
December 24, 1803 to Dorchester point
were drowned by the oversetting of the boat.
Down the stream of life we glide,
Wasted by the hastening tide,
Soon we all ingulf’d must be.
In the ocean of eternity.
Mortals think though smooth the wave,
Beneath may be a yawning grave
A sudden fate—no warning given,
O now prepare for death & heaven.